Self Destruction: Bears Fall To Panthers 20-17

Despite having a 17-3 lead over the Carolina Panthers (2-0) midway through the third quarter, the Chicago Bears (1-1) wiped out on their wave of momentum when the Panthers scored 17 unanswered points, resulting in a 20-17 defeat. For the majority of the game, the Bears had poor field position, starting seven of their 13 possessions inside their own 20-yard line. Twelve penalties was the main reason for those situations.

It was a typical day for Kyle Orton, who completed 19 of 32 attempts for 149 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Orton did fairly well spreading the ball around by connecting with eight different receivers. Brandon Lloyd led the team with five catches for 66 yards. The running attack was solid with Matt Forte rushing for 92 yards on 23 carries, and Jason McKie scoring from one yard out in the third quarter. Though the offense had an average outing, there were some dark spots. Greg Olsen had two crucial fumbles in the game—one of which was forced by ex-Bear Chris Harris and resulted in a Panther TD. And in the final two minutes of the game, the Bears were faced with second-and-one, and failed to gain one yard on three attempts, thus turning the ball over on downs to the Panthers. And only making matters worse, Devin Hester left the game in the third quarter with a rib injury.

On defense, the Monsters of the Midway seemed to be running on all cylinders in the first half. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme was held to only 24 yards passing at halftime, while running back DeAngelo Williams could only muster up 24 yards on the ground. Although the Bears defense finished the game with an interception (Charles Tillman) and three sacks (Alex Brown, Mike Brown, Israel Idonije) they still couldn’t contain Panthers rookie running back Jonathan Stewart in the second half. Stewart ran through Brian Urlacher and company for 77 yards and two TDs after replacing Williams.

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The only shining moment on special teams was in the first quarter when Lloyd recovered a punt blocked by Darrell McClover and ran it in for the score. Other than that, Chicago’s special teams unit wasn’t that special. Three of the 12 penalties the Bears were flagged for were due to illegal blocks in the back on returns, which put the ball deep in their own territory. Also, Brad Maynard only averaged 40 yards a punt and pinned just one of his seven punts inside the 20-yard line.

After this Week 2 meltdown, it’s back to the drawing board for the Chicago Bears. As a whole, the team has to play smart and not commit penalties, as well as not commit turnovers. And as conservative as the offense may be, it has to step it up a notch and be a little more aggressive in trying to score, or all of the pressure will be on the defense to virtually pitch shutouts the entire year.

By Clyde A. Speller
ProFootball-fans.com Chicago Bears Correspondent